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David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American professional baseball designated hitter (DH) with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins from 1997-2002. Ortiz is a nine-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion and he holds the Red Sox single-season record for home runs with 54, set during the 2006 season. He is the all-time leader in MLB history for home runs (381), RBIs (1,245) and hits (1,758) by a DH. Ortiz has hit 431 career home runs, which ranks 45th on the MLB all-time home run list. Minnesota Twins (1997–2002) Ortiz made his Major League debut for the Twins on September 2, 1997. For several years, he split playing time between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats playing at first base and as a DH. Ortiz battled a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. In early 2002, he continued to experience knee problems that lingered with him throughout the season, despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 runs batted in (RBIs) in 125 games. The Twins released Ortiz after the season, after finding themselves unable to find a team willing to trade for him. In parts of 6 seasons totaling 455 games with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 home runs and 238 RBIs. Boston Red Sox (2003–present) On January 22, Ortiz signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. He played sparingly in the first two months of the season, primarily pinch hitting and starting occasionally as a DH. On June 1, manager Grady Little benched Jeremy Giambi and inserted Ortiz in the starting lineup as the full-time DH. In July, Ortiz hit 8 home runs, and in August, 11. He finished the season with 31 home runs, 101 RBIs and a .288 average, finishing fifth in the American League MVP voting. In the postseason, Ortiz struggled in the ALDS against the Oakland A's until Game 4, when he hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning off closer Keith Foulke to give the Red Sox the lead. In the ALCS against the New York Yankees, Ortiz had 2 home runs and 6 RBIs as Boston lost in seven games. 2004 Ortiz played a major role in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. During the regular season, Ortiz hit 41 home runs and had 139 RBIs while batting .301 with an OPS of .983. He finished second in the American League in both home runs and RBIs. He was voted to the All-Star team for the first time in his career, and finished fourth in American League MVP voting. In the playoffs, Ortiz hit .409 with 5 home runs and 23 RBIs. He had multiple game-winning hits to help Boston advance to and ultimately win the World Series. He hit a walk-off home run off of Jarrod Washburn in the 10th inning of Game 3 to win the American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels. In the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, he hit a walk-off two-run home run against Paul Quantrill in the 12th inning of Game 4 and a walk-off single off of Esteban Loaiza in the 14th inning of Game 5. His heroics earned him MVP honors, the first time a DH had ever won that award. In the World Series vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, Ortiz hit a three-run home run off of Woody Williams in the 1st inning of Game 1 at Fenway Park. He hit .308 in the series as the Red Sox swept the Cardinals to end the Curse of the Bambino. On May 28, Ortiz hit his 100th career home run, a grand slam, off of Joel Piñeiro of the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. Ortiz was suspended for three games after being ejected, following an incident on July 16 in a game against the Angels in which he threw onto the field several bats that came close to hitting umpires Bill Hohn and Mark Carlson. 2005 Ortiz hit 47 home runs, had 148 RBIs, and batted .300 with an OPS of 1.001. He led the American League in RBIs, while finishing second in home runs and third in OPS. Ortiz finished second in the American League MVP voting to Alex Rodriguez while leading the Red Sox to their third consecutive playoff appearance, where they lost in the first round to the eventual champions, the White Sox. Before the season started, Red Sox ownership presented Ortiz with a plaque proclaiming him "the greatest clutch-hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox". 2006 Ortiz hit 54 home runs (setting a new Red Sox record) and had 137 RBIs while batting .287 with an OPS of 1.049. He led the American League in both home runs and RBIs, winning the home-run crown by 10 over Jermaine Dye. He finished third in the American League MVP voting. On June 29, Ortiz hit his 200th career home run against Duaner Sánchez of the New York Mets at Fenway Park. On September 20, Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record of 50 set in 1938, in the sixth inning against Minnesota Twins' Boof Bonser. On September 21, Ortiz broke Foxx's record by hitting his 51st home run off of Johan Santana of the Twins. The home run was his 44th of the season as a designated hitter, breaking his own American League single-season record. 2007 Ortiz helped lead the Red Sox to their seventh World Series title. In the regular season, he had 35 home runs and 117 RBI's while batting .332, placing him in the top 10 in the American League in all three categories. In addition, he hit 52 doubles, led the American League in extra base hits and had an OPS of 1.066. He finished fourth in the American League MVP voting. In the postseason, Ortiz batted .370 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs as Boston eventually swept the Colorado Rockies to win the World Series. 2008 Ortiz started slowly after suffering a wrist injury which caused him to miss several weeks. He played in a total of 109 games and finished the season with 23 home runs and 89 RBIs while batting .264. 2009 Ortiz struggled early in the season, hitting only .206 with no home runs and 30 strikeouts in his first 34 games. On May 22, he hit his first home run of the season off Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays, ending a career-high 178 homerless at-bat streak. In June, Ortiz broke out of his slump by hitting 8 home runs with 22 RBIs. He had 9 home runs in both July and August. He finished the season with 28 home runs and 99 RBIs with a .238 average. On July 9, Ortiz hit his 300th career home run against Luke Hochevar of the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. On September 17, Ortiz hit his 270th career home run as a DH off of José Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels breaking the all-time record held by Frank Thomas. 2010 Ortiz hit 32 home runs, had 102 RBIs and batted .270. Ortiz won the Home Run Derby contest at the All-Star Game, defeating Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramírez in the final. 2011 Ortiz finished the season with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs while batting .309. On April 2, Ortiz set the record for RBIs by a designated hitter with 1,004, passing Edgar Martínez. On May 21, Ortiz became only the fifth player to hit 300 home runs as a member of the Red Sox, joining Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans. On July 15, Ortiz was suspended for 4 games for his part in a brawl that took place on July 8 in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. Ortiz charged Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg after a brushback pitch and an exchange of words, triggering a bench-clearing brawl. On October 20, Major League Baseball announced that Ortiz was the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award. 2012 On July 4, at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Ortiz hit his 400th career home run off of A. J. Griffin of the Oakland Athletics. On July 16, Ortiz suffered a season-ending injury to his right Achilles tendon. He finished the season with 23 home runs and 60 RBIs while batting .318 in 90 games. 2013 Ortiz once again was a major factor in helping lead the Red Sox to their eighth World Series championship. During the regular season, he hit 30 home runs, had 103 RBIs and batted .309. He finished in the top 10 in all 3 categories in the American League. In the postseason, Ortiz had 5 home runs and 13 RBIs while batting .353. In Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit 2 home runs off of Rays' ace pitcher David Price. In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series vs the Detroit Tigers, Ortiz hit a dramatic, game-tying grand slam off of reliever Joaquin Benoit in the bottom of the 8th inning, helping propel the Red Sox to victory. In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Ortiz hit home runs in both games 1 and 2, had 6 RBIs and batted .688 as the Red Sox won the series 4–2. As a result of his performance, Ortiz was awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player award. On April 20, before the first game played at Fenway Park since the Boston Marathon bombings and his first since August 2012 after an achilles tendon injury, Ortiz spoke to the crowd and stated, "This is our fucking city, and no one is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong." Ortiz reached several career milestones in 2013, including his 500th career double on July 2 and his 2,000th career hit on September 4. On July 10, Ortiz passed Harold Baines to become the all time leader for hits by a DH with 1689. On July 27, Ortiz was ejected by home-plate umpire Tim Timmons for arguing balls and strikes against the Baltimore Orioles. After his ejection, Ortiz used his bat to smash a pressbox phone in the dugout. Major League Baseball decided not to suspend Ortiz for the incident. Ortiz gained several new nicknames from the media and his teammates as a result of his great postseason play such as "Señor Octubre" and "Cooperstown".